Talking about politics, almost everyone will think about how dirty is the world of politics. Politicians will be directly associated with the abuse of power, corruption, liars and etc. This happens everywhere, whether it is in the democracy, dictatorship or anarchy system.

But I think it is naive and unfair when we sum up all politicians like that. There are still politicians who are still full with integrity, putting his whole heart into the improvement of the constituent that he is serving. Trying very hard to take care of every single person in the constituent while sacrificing his time and money to make sure that every single thing is alright. These politicians should be called representatives, rather than sticking them with the stigma of the word ‘politician’.

I have been fascinated with politics since I was small, largely because my dear grandparents were among those who were in the UMNO early days. They fought for the betterment of the Malays which in those days were still lacking in terms of education and economy. When they left politics, they had nothing. No timber concessions, no land award. They lived mediocrely, trying very hard to make ends meet. But they proudly live telling their grandchildren, how they fought for their causes.

The point I want to make here is, when one is thinking about becoming an elected representative, whether it is parliamentary or house of representatives, one has to be ready to live moderately, be ready to sacrifice most of the time for the people that one is serving. If the first thing that one thinks is a 2-door convertible BMW, 10-room mansion with a big pool, then stop there. You will risk making the system corrupted and inefficient. Find something else, perhaps doing business is something proper for you.

This might seem an utopia, but as far as my small brain is concerned, it is the ideal way of life for an elected representative. Unless everyone is living with a convertible BMW (some people have two) and a 10-room mansion, then one can live that way without guilt. Is there any living example of this kind of representative? Yes, there are, but not so many.

I admit that it is very hard to refuse the temptation of wealth when you have power. But with proper mindset, I think we can produce the kind of representatives that I am talking about. All in all, who is the best statesman ever lived? He is non other that Prophet Muhammad saw. Picking up what Reverend R. Bosworth Smith wrote in his book “Mohamed and Mohammedanism”:

“Head of the state as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but, he was pope without the pope’s claims, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar, without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue. If ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by a Right Divine, it was Mohammad, for he had all the power without instruments and without its support. He cared not for dressing of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life.”